Cascade Times
by sinjinh1
Summary: Jim and Blair introduce Jim's father to Bodie and Doyle. That's just the tip of the iceburg. Sequel to Bittersweet Reunion.
1. Chapter 1

It had been six months since Blair had started at the police academy. He was now a full-fledged member of the Cascade Police Department. He was a detective with the Major Crimes unit and he was officially Jim's partner. It had taken some convincing from Simon to get the Chief to agree to let them be partners. Not because of Blair's dissertation but because they were now a couple. The department had a strict policy about couples not being partnered together. Simon argued that Jim worked better with Blair by his side. And he had Jim's solve rate since Blair had been working with him to back him up.

Ray had been successful so far with his studio. Several of his former students from the university had signed up for classes at his studio and had even signed up to teach classes of their own. Bodie had found his footing in his job as a consultant with the Cascade PD. He was able to use some of the tactics from CI5 to help solve cases in Cascade.

It was a Saturday and Jim and Blair were enjoying the morning by making love. It was 10 o'clock and Blair hadn't even been out of the bed. Jim had gone down and gotten them some toast and coffee, but other than that they had spent the morning in their bed. Jim was so distracted by his lover that he didn't hear the elevator as it came up. He didn't know they had a visitor until they heard the knock on the door.

Jim looked up as Blair cursed. "Tell me that's not my dad or Bodie."

"Nope," Jim said as he extended his hearing. Then he sat straight up. "It's my dad."

Blair sat up. "You're kidding. I thought he was in England."

"Apparently he's back," Jim said as he grabbed a shirt.

Blair grabbed a shirt and they quickly got dressed. They were half way to the door when Jim laughed. "What?" Blair asked.

"You're wearing my shirt, Chief," Jim said as Blair groaned.

"Well, I guess your dad is about to find out we're together," Blair said as Jim went over to the door.

"You ready?"

"As ready as I'm going to be," Blair said as he indicated for Jim to open the door.

"Hi Dad," Jim grinned as his father came in.

"Hi Jimmy," William Ellison said as he came in. He looked over at Blair. "Good morning Blair."

"Good morning, Mr. Ellison," Blair said as he grabbed his shoes. "Jim, I think I'll go downstairs and see if Ray needs any help in the studio. You and your dad get caught up. You'll have to make a fresh pot of coffee though."

Blair had his shoes on and was out the door before Jim could say anything. He looked at his father. "Do you want some coffee?"

"That would be nice," William said as they went over to the kitchen. "So, Steven and I got back from England and there were messages for me about a press conference that Blair had made."

Jim sighed as he got two mugs out of the cabinet. "Yeah, his dissertation was leaked and he gave a press conference saying that the work was fiction. He was discredited academically."

"The dissertation was about you," William concluded.

"The dissertation was about people like me yes," Jim said as he started a new part of coffee. "He never meant for it to be published with my name in it."

"So what happened?"

"His mother gave it to a publisher without his permission," Jim said as he sat down at the counter. "She did it out of spite. Blair had just found out who his father was and he was spending more time with me and with his father than he was with her. She thought if his dissertation was published and he would leave everything police related behind."

"Okay, so he discredited his work, and that's why he's still living here?"

"No, Dad, he's still living here because he is my partner in every since of the word," Jim said as he gave his father a look. "He gave up his life's work to protect me. He didn't have to. I didn't want him to. I was going to figure out a way to still do my job even with my secret out, but he did it because he loves me. We had been together for a while before Naomi decided to try to ruin our lives. She thought I would kick him out."

"He loves you very much to give up his career and his life's work for you," William observed. "And I know how much you love him. It was written all over your face when you brought him to the house. I saw the press conference, Jimmy. My assistant had recorded it and I watched it when I got home. I saw the look in his eyes as he discredited everything he had worked for. He did it out of love. I wish I could have someone like that in my life."

Jim nodded as he got up and got the coffee for him and his father,

Blair was straightening up in the studio when Ray came over and gave him a cup of coffee. "So what's going on?" his father asked.

Blair sighed as he took the cup. "Jim's father is upstairs."

"Is that why you're wearing Jim's shirt?"

Blair blushed a little. "We got dressed in a hurry when his father knocked on the door."

He went over to a chair and sighed as he sat down. "His dad and brother were out of the country when everything happened with my dissertation. I can only imagine how angry Mr. Ellison is with me."

"I doubt that," Ray said as he came and sat across from his son. "Once Jim tells him what happened and why, he will understand."

"I hope so," Blair said as he looked up to see Jim and William come in. He stood up and looked at his lover. "Is everything all right?"

"Everything's just fine, Blair," William said as he walked over to the younger man. "Jimmy explained exactly what happened and why. And while I can't say I want to see your mother any time soon, I can say that I am sorry you had to give up your life's work. And I am glad you and my son finally admitted how you feel about each other."

"Thank you, Mr. Ellison," Blair said as he held out a hand to the older man.

William smiled as he shook Blair's hand. "I think it's time you called me William. Or Bill."

"Probably Bill, since William is Bodie's first name," Blair laughed as he looked at his father. "Oh, yeah, you two haven't met. William Ellison, I'd like you to meet my father, Ray Doyle."

"It's nice to meet you Mr. Doyle," William said as they shook hands.

"You too," Ray said. "And please, call me Ray."

Bodie came in and looked at them. "Family reunion?"

"You could say that," Jim said. "Dad, this is Ray's partner, Bodie. Bodie, this is my dad, William Ellison. I'd give you all of Bodie's names, Dad, but we might be here a while."

"Funny," Bodie said as he shook William's hand.

"Why don't you all come over for dinner tonight?" William said as he looked at Jim. "Steven will be there and so will Sally. It will give us all a chance to get to know each other."

"I'd like that," Jim said as he looked at Ray and Bodie. "What about you two?"

"Dinner would be lovely," Ray said as he gave Bodie a look. "Tell us when you want us to be there and give me the directions to the house. Can't trust this one to find his way to work and back on most days."

That night, Ray pulled up in front of William Ellison's house as Bodie let out a low whistle. "Looks like your son is marrying into money, Ray."

"Behave," Ray said as they got out of the car. "And Blair hasn't said anything about him and Jim getting married. At least not yet."

"Your son isn't as commitment phobic as you are," Bodie said as Ray stopped him.

"You asked me to marry you before I even got out of hospital. Excuse me for wanting to make sure your intentions were honorable."

"And what's your excuse now?" Bodie asked.

Ray shook his head. "Not here, not now. We'll discuss this later."

He left Bodie and walked up to the door to the house. Bodie sighed and followed his partner to the door. William greeted them and led them into the living room. He asked them what they wanted to drink. They both said scotch. Bodie noticed the bottle. "Haven't had that brand since I left England," Bodie said as he accepted his glass.

"I was introduced to this brand during the war," William said as he looked at them. "I was in England working in intelligence with a Scottish major. He swore by this brand of scotch."

Ray and Bodie exchanged a look. "What?" Blair asked.

"Bill, what was the name of the major you served with?" Ray asked.

"Let me think," William said as he took a sip of his scotch. "His name was George. George Cowley."

Bodie just laughed. "What is it?" Bill asked.

"George Cowley was our boss at CI5," Ray explained. "He turned the reins over to Bodie and our friend Murphy when he retired. Bodie turned everything over to Murphy when he came here."

"How is George?" William asked as Ray looked at his drink.

"He died," Bodie said bluntly. "Not long after he retired. Cancer."

William nodded then lifted his glass. "To George Cowley."

"To Cowley," Ray said as he gave William a smile.

"To the Cow," Bodie grinned as Ray gave him a look.

When they sat down for dinner, William looked at Blair. "Steven and I have talked to our lawyers."

"That's right," Steven said as he looked at his brother and his brother's partner. "They think you have a good case against the publisher and the university. The publisher should have never taken your dissertation to print. And the university shouldn't have fired you."

"I appreciate your support," Blair said as Jim reached under the table and squeezed Blair's hand. "That part of my life is over now. I like working as a detective."

"If you change your mind, just let me know," William said as Blair nodded.

When Ray and Bodie got home that night, Ray grabbed a beer out of the fridge then went out to the balcony. Bodie followed him at a slower pace. He saw Ray sitting in his lounge chair looking out over the harbor. He opened his beer as he sat down in his lounge chair.

"I know what you're thinking," Bodie said after a minute.

"Oh really?" Ray said as he took a sip of his beer.

"You're feeling guilty about not being there when Cowley died. Tell me, if he had told you he was sick before you left, would you have gone?"

"I don't know," Ray sighed. "I just knew I needed to leave before you got back. There are a lot of things I might change about what happened then."

"I think Cowley didn't tell you because he knew you had to leave," Bodie said as Ray gave him a look. "He knew you needed to leave but he didn't know you were going to stay gone. I think we all thought you would come back to London. And while I'm not happy about the way you left, I understand why."

Ray nodded. After a minute, he held his hand out to Bodie. Bodie smiled as he took Ray's hand and they looked out at the water.


	2. Chapter 2

A few weeks later, Jim and Blair were investigating a trio of suspected drug dealers. One of Jim's informants had told him they were in the process of manufacturing a new designer drug. After having lived through the effects of Golden, this was personal for the partners. They pulled up in front of the house the trio was supposed to be at and Blair looked at Jim. "Backup is on the way."

Jim just nodded. They checked their guns before they got out of the truck. They had no more than exited the vehicle when the shooting started. They each dove behind a door to the truck. Blair glanced over at Jim and made sure he wasn't doing anything stupid as they returned fire.

Blair had to reload his gun as Jim managed to take out one of the shooters. Blair was facing the door to the truck to keep an eye on the other shooter. They didn't know where the third guy was but Blair couldn't chance looking behind him. Backup arrived and Bodie took out the second shooter as Blair felt a bullet hit him in the back. He barely managed to get out Jim's name before he fell to the ground.

The third shooter ran as Jim came around the truck. Rafe and Brown went after the shooter. Bodie and Simon joined Jim at Blair's side. "He's alive," Jim said softly. "I don't know where the bullet hit him."

Simon grabbed his radio. "I need an ambulance to my location. We have an officer down. I repeat, officer down."

The ambulance arrived and Bodie pulled Jim away from Blair. They watched as the paramedics got Blair ready to transport to the hospital. Simon put his hand on his best detective's shoulder. "Go with him, Jim."

"I have to tell Ray," Jim said, never taking his eyes off of his partner.

"I'll tell him," Bodie said as he walked Jim over to the ambulance. "I will bring Ray to the hospital. Go, Ellison."

Bodie didn't even wait for the ambulance to leave. He went straight to Ray's studio. Ray was in the middle of a class when Bodie walked in. As soon as he saw the look on his partner's face, he sat down on the stool behind him. He looked at the people in the studio. "I'm sorry, I have to close early. There's been a family emergency. Please, I need everyone to leave now."

As soon as they were alone, Ray looked at Bodie. "Tell me he's not dead."

"He's alive," Bodie said as he went over and put his hands on Ray's shoulders. "He's been shot. I don't know how badly he's injured. I came here straight away."

Ray just nodded as he went over and got his jacket. When they got to the hospital, Ray went straight to Jim. "What the hell happened to my son?"

"We were going to bust some guys who are supposed to be manufacturing a new designer drug," Jim said as he leaned against the wall. "We got to the location and as soon as we got out of the truck, they started shooting. I swear Ray, I thought he was safe behind the door of the truck. I didn't know the third guy had snuck behind us. He shot Blair in the back."

"What the hell good is it for you to have these enhanced senses if you can't tell when someone is coming up behind your partner?" Ray asked as he got in Jim's face.

"Calm down, Sunshine," Bodie said as he pulled Ray away from Jim. He turned his partner to face him. "How could Jim concentrate on the people shooting at him and notice there was someone coming up behind him? Enhanced senses or not, there is no way he would have known that bastard was coming up behind Blair."

Ray closed his eyes and nodded. When he opened them he looked at Jim. "I'm sorry."

"Don't," Jim said as he held his hand up. "I know it's my fault. I'm supposed to watch his back. You're right, what good does it do to have these enhanced senses if I can't protect the person who means the most to me in the world."

"Come on," Bodie said as he pointed toward the chairs. "Let's sit down. It's probably going to be a long wait."

Simon came in with some coffee for everyone. He sat beside Jim. "We've got the third shooter. Rafe is booking him now."

"I want to question him," Jim said, his voice hard.

"No," Simon said as Jim gave him a look. "You wouldn't be allowed to question him under normal circumstances because Blair is your partner. At to the fact that he is your boyfriend, and there is no way I'm letting you anywhere near him."

"I need to do this, Simon," Jim argued.

"No. Look, it took a lot of convincing to get the chief to let you two be partners in the first place. The department has very strict policies about romantic involvement among partners. Right now, I can get away with it. I know you've been talking about asking him to marry you. Who knows if I can keep you two together when that happens?"

Jim got up and started pacing. Ray looked up at him. "You want to marry Blair?"

Jim stopped and looked at his partner's father. He just nodded. Bodie snorted. "Don't ask him while he's still in hospital. He'll laugh in your face."

Ray gave Bodie a look. "I did not laugh in your face."

"You two are getting married?" Jim asked as he sat back down.

"No," Bodie growled. "He keeps saying no."

"Now is not the time nor the place for this discussion," Ray said as he got up and threw his coffee cup away. He ran his hand through his hair then turned back to the others. They saw his gaze go to the door when the doctor came out.

"You're here for Detective Sandburg?"

"I'm his father," Ray said as Jim sat up. "This is his partner. How is he?"

"He's lucky," the doctor sighed. "The bullet came close to his spine but didn't damage it."

"Is he paralyzed?" Jim asked.

"There is swelling that we are concerned with," the doctor stated. "However, I have every confidence that when the swelling goes down, Detective Sandburg will be able to resume all activities."

"Can we see him?" Ray asked.

"The nurse will take you to him in a few minutes. Be warned, I don't expect him to regain consciousness tonight."

The nurse came and took them to Blair's room. Ray and Jim went in first. Ray went over to his son's bed and took his hand. Jim came over to him. "I wish it had been me."

"Don't say that," Ray said harshly. "Do you think he would want to hear you say that?"

Jim hung his head. "No, of course he wouldn't."

"I'll stay here with him," Ray said as he pulled up a chair. "You go and make sure the scum that did this goes down. Let Bodie question him. He has ways of getting a confession out of people. I'll call you if there's any change in Blair's condition."

Jim went over to the other side of the bed and leaned down over Blair. "Hang in there Chief. I need you."

He nodded at Ray as he left the room. He followed Bodie and Simon out of the hospital and to Simon's car. When they arrived at the station, Rafe told them that the suspect was in the interrogation room. Simon told him and Joel to take Jim into the observation room and stay with him. Simon told him that under no circumstances was Jim to come into the interrogation room.

Bodie looked at Simon before they went in. "Let me handle this my way."

"Is your way going to lead to a law suit?"

Bodie just grinned as he opened the door. Simon had no choice but to follow the older man in. The first thing Bodie did was kick the guys chair out from under him. "Get up!" he shouted. "Before I forget to be polite."

"That's polite?" the guy asked as he stood up.

Bodie slammed the chair down and tossed the guy into it. "What's your name?"

"What?"

"Your name. I know you've got one."

"Kyle."

"Who hired you, Kyle?"

"What?"

Bodie got into Kyle's face. "You're too stupid to cook designer drugs. So are your dead buddies. You didn't just decide to shoot at two cops. Tell me what happened."

Kyle looked away. Bodie grabbed his shirt and pulled him out of the chair. He slammed Kyle against the way. "Go head, keep your mouth shut. I'm just getting warmed up."

Kyle looked at Simon. "Keep him away from me."

"Technically he's only a consultant," Simon shrugged. "I have no authority over him."

Bodie bashed Kyle against the wall again. "All right, all right," Kyle said as he held his hands up.

Bodie set him back in the chair. He and Simon took seats across the table from him. "Talk," Bodie commanded.

"Bernie comes running in a couple of weeks ago," Kyle started. "He said we were going to make an easy 10K. All we had to do was make it look like we were the next big thing in the drug world. He talked up this new designer drug to a few people. Got a friend of his to make some samples. We knew we needed a home base so Larry rented that house. We made sure that the cops had all the clues to lead them to us. We knew it would be two guys in an old blue and white truck. The lady that hired us told Bernie we were supposed to shoot the one with the short hair and bring the other one to her. So when they showed up today, Bernie and Larry started shooting. I was supposed to go behind the cops and shoot the one with short hair. I get behind them and they've both got short hair. I figured the easier target was the one who was reloading. We thought we were going to have an easy get away cause the lady said this cop never called for backup. I swear, I'd no more than shot the younger one when the cavalry showed up. It wasn't supposed to go down like this."

"You said a woman hired you," Simon said as he and Bodie exchanged a look. "Do you know her name?"

"Nah, Bernie said she wouldn't tell us her name, but I know what she looked like. She was older. Looked like a reject from some hippie movie. Had red hair."

"You know how to contact her?" Bodie said as he sat up.

"I got a number," Kyle said as Bodie went over and got the phone from the table behind him.

He placed it on the table in front of Kyle. "Here's what's going to happen. The guy you shot is a police detective. That's attempted murder of a law enforcement officer. You just admitted that you were supposed to kidnap him. That's attempted kidnapping. You have another count of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer because you were shooting at both detectives. Your two buddies died in the gun fight. That leaves you holding the bag. The best thing you can do is contact the bitch who hired you and give her an address to meet."

He pulled out a pen and a piece of paper. He wrote down an address and placed the paper on the table. "That's the address you give her. You breathe one word that tips her off and that tap on the wall will be the least of your worries."

Kyle looked at him for a minute before he called the woman who hired him. He gave her the address and a time to meet. Bodie and Simon left him in the interrogation room and took the phone with them. They met Jim in the hallway. "Tell me I didn't just hear what I thought I heard," Jim said as he looked at them. "Tell me he didn't just describe Naomi Sandburg as the woman who hired them?"


	3. Chapter 3

Simon sighed. "It sounds like it. But Jim, we won't know for sure until we meet her."

He looked at Brown. "Get Taggart and Conner and get ready to go to this house."

He took the address from Bodie and gave it to Brown. "Rafe, you're with us."

Within half an hour, Bodie, Jim, Rafe and Simon were inside the house with Brown, Joel and Megan outside with a team covering the perimeter. Jim looked around the house. "Does Ray know about this place?"

"It's my bolt hole," Bodie said as he gave Jim a look. "And yes, Ray knows about it. It was supposed to be a place to escape temporarily if anyone from our old lives showed up. After tonight, it will go on the market."

They heard a knock on the door and as per their plan, Rafe went to the door. Because Naomi had not had much interaction with the young detective, they knew they could use him for this task. They weren't surprised when he came in with Naomi a moment later. "What's going on?" she asked.

"We were hoping you could tell us that," Bodie said as he indicated the chair he had put in the middle of the living room floor. "Sit. Now."

"I don't think so," she said as she gave him a look.

"Naomi, sit down," Jim said as he gave her a hard look.

She gave him a look before she finally sat in the chair. The four men stood on each side of the chair. She looked around the room. "Where's Blair? I was told Blair would be here."

"I know you were," Bodie said as he glared at her. "You were told the job was done and to come here to pay off the men you hired and collect Blair. That's not going to happen."

"How do you know what, if anything, was said in a private conversation?" she spat.

"Because I'm the one who told him to call you. I'm the one who gave him this address to meet you. I'm the one who got him to admit that you hired him to kill Jim and kidnap your own son."

"Why would I do such a thing?" she said innocently.

"You tell us," Simon said as he put his cigar in his mouth. "You're the one who claims she loves her son, yet as far as I can tell you've done nothing but hurt him since I've known him."

"That's not true," she protested.

"Let's see, the first thing you did was tell him he was hurting his aura by hanging out with pigs," Jim recalled. "And of course there's his childhood. Not to mention what you did with his dissertation."

"I did that to get him away from you!" she shouted. "I did that to get him away from the stupid pigs. Not to mention that damn pig that contributed some DNA."

"Ray Doyle has been a better parent to Blair in the last few months than you have his entire life," Bodie said as he stepped closer to her. "In fact, he's doing what a parent should do right now. He is holding out hope that his son, his only child, makes it through the night after being shot in the back by the thug you hired to kidnap him."

"What!" Naomi said as she tried to get up. Bodie shoved her back into the chair. "No! Blair wasn't supposed to get hurt. I told them to shoot the one with the short hair."

"Did it not occur to you that Blair would cut his hair when he went to the academy?" Jim said as he shook his head.

"It never occurred to me that he would join the pigs," she spat. "I thought he would get as far away from you as possible after his career was ruined."

"Who ruined it?" Bodie asked as she glared at him. "You're the one who forced his hand."

"All he had to do was admit that he had written that dissertation and his career would have been set," Naomi huffed. "He could have any academic post he wanted. It wouldn't have mattered what happened to Jim. He didn't matter. All that mattered was making sure Blair got away."

"Even if it cost Jim his life?" Rafe asked from behind her. "Because that's what would have happened if your plan had worked today. Jim would be dead and Blair would be, what, your prisoner?"

"I would never stifle Blair's growth as a human being by keeping him a prisoner," Naomi said as Bodie shook his head. "You don't believe me?"

"I don't believe a word that comes out of your filthy mouth, bitch," he said as she sat back in the chair. "You have done nothing by lie to Blair since he was born. You told him you didn't know who his father was when you knew perfectly well it was Ray. You told him it was for his own good when you left him alone with strangers. You told him it was for his own good when you ruined his career. And you would have told him the same thing if you had succeeded in killing the man he loves and kidnapping him."

"I did what I had to do to protect my child," Naomi said as Simon held up his hand.

"All right, I've heard enough," he said as he pulled her up out of the chair. "Naomi Sandburg, you're under arrest for conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit kidnapping and attempted murder. Rafe, get her out of here and make sure her rights are read."

He looked at Jim and Bodie. "Get back to the hospital. Make sure Blair and Ray hear this from the two of you instead of the news."

Jim nodded and followed Bodie out of the house. When they got back to the hospital, they went straight to Blair's room. Ray looked up when they came in. "He hasn't woken up yet," Ray sighed. "The doctor's been in. He doesn't expect Blair to wake up until morning. Did you two find out what happened?"

"Why don't we go see if we can find a decent cup of tea in the cafeteria?" Bodie suggested.

Ray looked at both of them. "Out with it. Now."

Jim looked at Bodie and sighed. "It was Naomi," he said at last. "She arranged the entire thing. "They were supposed to shoot me and kidnap Blair. Only Naomi didn't know Blair got his hair cut. The only instruction she gave them on how to tell us apart was to shoot the one with short hair."

Ray was out of his chair and out of the room before the other two men could say anything. Bodie went after him while Jim stayed with Blair. Bodie caught up with Ray and grabbed his arm. "Where do you think you're going, Sunshine?"

"I'm going to talk to that bitch," Ray said as he pulled out of Bodie's grasp.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Bodie said as Ray punched the button for the elevator.

"I don't really care what you think right now, Bodie," Ray said as he got on the elevator. Bodie had no choice but to get on with him.

"They won't let you see her," Bodie tried to reason. "You're the victim's father."

"If Simon Banks knows what's good for him, he will let me see her," Ray said as Bodie reached over and punched the emergency stop button. "What are you doing?"

"You need to calm down," Bodie said as he put his hands on Ray's shoulders. "You are not going to do Blair any good if you wind up in a hospital bed beside him."

Ray looked at him. "Look at me, Bodie. I am perfectly calm. I know what my limitations are, thank you very much. I've been living with them a long time now. This would not be the first time I've lost my temper in all that time."

"How many times has your son's life been in danger?" Bodie argued. "The last time…"

"The last time I fought off his attacker," Ray said as he started the elevator again. "You are not going to wrap me in cotton wool, Bodie. I can handle confronting Naomi over the attempted murder of our son. If you can't, then you know how to leave."

"Leave you on your own?" Bodie laughed. "You wouldn't last a minute without me, and you know it."

Ray gave him a look as they fell into silence. When they arrived at the station, Simon was waiting for them in the bullpen. "Jim called. He seems to think you want to speak with our suspect."

"And you had better not argue," Ray said as he came to his full height. He knew Simon had a few inches on him, but he wasn't about to be intimidated into not confronting Naomi. "I am going to see her."

Simon just led him to the interrogation room. He stopped before he opened the door. "I knew better than to not allow this. You have to know, there are rules though. You are to stay on your side of the table. You are not to physically attack her in any way. And when I decide this ends, it ends. Clear?"

"Crystal," Ray said as Simon opened the door. He walked in and sat across the table from the woman who had tried to kill his son. The woman he had fallen for all those years ago. The woman who had given birth to his son. He couldn't justify what she had done. He knew he never would. "Naomi."

"Ray," she glared. "I was told you were holding a vigil over my son."

"Our son," he corrected. "You seem to forget in all your scheming that he is my son too."

"I'm the one who raised him," she argued.

"You are the one who kept him from me," he argued back. "You are the one who decided he was better off thinking that his mother was a slut than admit that you did know who his father was. I don't know if keeping me from him was to punish me or to punish him."

"Why would I want to punish him? It wasn't his fault you were a pig out to make a name for himself."

"The next thing you'll tell me is that I took advantage of an innocent girl," Ray laughed. "We both know you were hardly innocent when I came into the picture. You were sleeping with a man you knew was dealing dangerous drugs. I was trying to help you, Naomi. I admit I wasn't a saint, but are you going to deny that Blair is worth what happened between us? He is a brilliant young man and we should both be proud of him. Why aren't you? Why are you so determined to ruin his life? What happened today could have killed him. He could still die. Yet, you don't seem to care. You just want to make sure he is taken away from everyone he's ever cared about. You want him taken away from a father who loves him and would die for him and a man who loves him more than anything else in this world."

He got up. "You know what, I don't want to know. I don't want to hear your excuses anymore. I just want you to know, you will never hurt my son again."

Ray passed Bodie and Simon and went straight back to the hospital. He resumed his place in the chair by Blair's side. He looked over at Jim, who sat on the other side of the bed, and nodded. Jim nodded back and they shared a silent vigil for Blair.

Ray didn't know Bodie had come back and draped a blanket over him as he slept in his chair. He didn't hear Jim get up to answer a phone call. Blair stirred as Jim got up to leave the room. He opened his eyes and saw his father sleeping in the chair to his right. He didn't see Jim and wasn't sure what to make of that. He also realized that he couldn't feel his legs. "Dad," he said softly.

Ray stirred when he heard Blair's voice and slowly opened his eyes. He sat straight up when he realized Blair was awake. He tossed the blanket aside and went over to his son's side. He took the pitcher on the tray table and poured Blair a cup of water and put the straw that was on the tray in it. He offered it to his son.

Blair gratefully took a couple of sips then looked at his father. "What happened?"

"You were shot in the back," Ray sighed as Jim came in. "You and Jim were ambushed."

"It was a set up?" Blair said as he looked at Jim.

"It looks that way, Chief," Jim said as he looked at Ray. "They're taking her for a psychiatric evaluation."

"Who?" Blair asked as he looked from his lover to his father and back again. He started to shake his head. "No. No, she wouldn't do this. She wouldn't try to kill me."

Jim takes his hand. "I'm sorry, Blair, but she did. Actually, her intention was to have me killed. She wanted you kidnapped."

Blair closed his eyes and shook his head. "Why? Why would she do this?"

"She said she wanted to get you away from me and Jim," Ray sighed. "It's the same reason she leaked your dissertation, only this time instead of ruining your career, she nearly killed you."

They told him everything they had learned from their investigation. He asked them for some time alone to process this. Jim said they would go down to the cafeteria to get something to eat. Blair nodded and when they left he closed his eyes and cried. He couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that his mother had been responsible for him being shot.

A few days later, Blair was released from the hospital. His doctor told him that the swelling near his spine had gone down quite a bit but he was still confined to a wheelchair. He insisted that he be taken to see Naomi. The psychiatrists who examined her said she was of sound mind. They declared that she had psychopathic tendencies but she knew exactly what she was doing when she hired the men to commit murder and kidnapping. The charges would stand and she would go to trial unless she accepted a plea deal.

Jim, Simon and Ray advised him against seeing his mother. Bodie said that Blair was as stubborn as his father and knew better than to argue. Simon insisted on going into the interrogation room with Blair. He opened the door and Naomi looked at him. "Captain Banks, why I have I been brought up here yet again? I thought you had everything you wanted out of me. You got me to confess after all."

"There's someone who deserves an explanation," he said he stepped aside and Blair wheeled himself in.

"Sweetheart," she said as she tried to get up. The officer behind her put her hand on Naomi's shoulder.

"Save it, Naomi," Blair said as he stopped at the other side of the table. "I thought you should see the consequences of your actions. I'll be in this thing for the next few weeks. Hopefully I won't have to learn to walk again. I could have been paralyzed for the rest of my life. I could have been killed. Is that what you wanted? Did you want me dead?"

"If it got you away from Jim and Ray, then it would have been worth it," she said as she tried to reach out to him. He pulled his hands away from her. "Don't you see Blair? I did all of this for you. I did this because I knew you would be better off as far away from them and this city as I could get you. I mean, they made you cut your beautiful hair. If that hadn't happened, you wouldn't have been shot."

"I made the decision to cut my hair," he sighed. "I made the decision to accept the offer to join the police department after you made damn sure my academic career was over. And do you seriously think that I would be better off dead than with people that love me?"

"Yes," she said as he backed away from the table.

"Okay," he said as he looked at her. "In that case, you no longer have a son. No matter how all of this turns out, I will never come to see you again. You are no longer welcome in my life. You are no longer my mother."

"You don't mean that," she protested. "They told you to say that."

"They didn't tell me to say anything. In fact, they told me this wasn't a good idea. I guess they were right. No one wants to hear that their mother would rather them be dead than happy. Goodbye Naomi. I'll see you at your trial. I can't say I hope you get off, because, quite frankly, I hope they throw the book at you."

He looked at his captain. "I'm ready to go."

Simon nodded and opened the door so Blair could leave. He looked up at his father. "Take me to the cabin."

Jim started to follow. "No, Jim, just Ray. I'll call you in a few days. I just need some time alone right now."

Jim just nodded and watched them leave.


	4. Chapter 4

They had been at the cabin for two days. Ray had let Blair have the space he needed. He had left Blair at the cabin while he went to town and got some supplies and then went fishing. It was the morning of the 3rd day and Ray came downstairs to see that Blair was already up. He went into the kitchen got a cup of coffee before he went out on the front porch.

Blair was sitting there staring out at the woods. Ray sat in the chair beside him. "How are your legs today?" he asked as he looked at his son from out of the corner of his eye.

"The feeling's returned," Blair said softly. "I haven't tried to get up yet."

"We can do that after breakfast."

"What's the point?"

"Oh, I don't know," Ray said as he turned and looked at Blair. "How about being able to go back to your job?"

Blair snorted.

Ray set his coffee down. He got up and went over to the porch rail then he turned and leaned against it. He folded his arms as he looked at Blair. "I never thought you were a quitter."

Blair gave him a look. "I am no quitter."

"So why are you snorting at the idea of going back to work?"

Blair sighed. "I don't belong there. There are enough people that think I just got the job because Jim and Simon pulled strings with the Chief. Now I'm the guy whose mother tried to have him killed."

"Blair, the people who matter aren't going to think that," Ray said. "I don't think that."

Blair gave him a sad smile. "You're my dad."

Ray grinned. "Exactly. I'm your dad. I'm in your corner every step of the way. So is Jim, if you let him. I know why you didn't want him to come with us. You needed to deal with what happened with your mother…"

"She's not my mother," Blair protested. "Not anymore."

Ray took his chair and turned it to face Blair before he sat back down. "She will always be your mother. None of us will ever understand why she's done the things she has done. Perhaps she is mentally ill. All I know is there is some part of you that still loves her and always will. You may never be able to forgive her for what she's done, I sure as hell won't, but you will still love her. I have seen you struggle with your feelings for your mother ever since your press conference. I've seen you struggle the last few days. I will never be able to justify what she did. None of us will ever be able to justify what she did. But she did do one thing right."

"What's that?" Blair asked as he looked at his father.

"She produced a wonderful, caring man who has always tried to see the best in her," Ray said as he smiled a little. "You try to see the best in all of us. That helps in your police work. Jim's said so. Remember that case you worked last month? The armed robberies that had everyone scratching their heads, even Jim. Yes, his senses led him to the house the robbers had been using, but your intuition told you the woman who answered the door was a hostage, not one of the robbers. You were able to talk them into letting her go before the SWAT team swarmed the house."

"She had just started at the university. I couldn't let them ruin her life. Everyone was convinced she was in on it, even Jim."

"But you knew better."

Blair sighed. "I know. I know I've done some good since I became a detective, but you feel better if I wasn't a detective."

"Okay, I admit, I do worry about you when you're at work," Ray laughed. "I'm your father, it's part of my job to worry. What you need to decide is what is best for you. I can't help you do that, but I know who can. Let me call Jim. You know he's dying to come out here. He's probably sitting in the truck waiting for you to call him."

"Yeah, okay," Blair said as Ray patted his leg before he stood up.

"Good man," Ray said as he walked toward the door. "I'll call him then I'll start breakfast."

"Dad," Blair said as Ray got to the door. He looked back as Blair looked up at him. "Maybe after breakfast we could do those exercises the physical therapist gave me."

Ray just smiled and nodded as he went inside.

That afternoon, Jim and Bodie pulled up in front of the cabin. Jim sighed as he turned off the truck. "You have been waiting 3 days for him to call you and tell you to come up here," Bodie said as he gave Jim a look.

"That's just it though," Jim said as they got out of the tuck. "Blair didn't call. Ray did."

"I promise you, Ray only called because Blair told him to," Bodie said as he got their bags. "Go on."

Jim nodded and walked up to the porch. Bodie just shook his head as he followed the younger man. They went inside and saw Ray helping Blair walk across the living room. Blair grinned as he looked up at his lover. "Hi Jim."

Jim walked over to them. "Take over, will you," Ray said as he traded places with Jim. "I'll go start lunch. Come on Bodie, you can help."

Jim waited until the older couple was in the kitchen. He looked at Blair. "So, you've been obeying doctor's orders?"

"Not really," Blair sighed. "I only started doing the exercises today. If I had started when we first got up here, I probably would have greeted you at the door."

"I understand why you haven't," Jim said as they slowly moved around the living room. "You had a lot to think about."

"I still do," Blair admitted. "It's part of the reason I asked you to come up here. We have things we need to talk about."

"Like what?" Jim asked as they stopped.

"Not now," Blair said as he reached down and pulled his wheelchair to him. "Later. We'll send Ray and Bodie fishing and then we'll talk."


	5. Chapter 5

After lunch, Ray and Bodie went to go fishing while Blair and Jim went back out onto the front porch. Blair sat there for a long time, staring at his hands, before he spoke. "I'm going to resign."

"What?" Jim said shocked. "Why?"

Blair looked up at the older man. "Jim, we both know I was never cut out to be a cop. I took the job because it was the only thing I could see doing after the fiasco that was my dissertation. You don't need me with you 24/7. You know how to control your senses without my help and you haven't zoned in months."

"But what if I do?" Jim asked as his eyes pleaded with Blair. "I need you with me."

"No, you don't," Blair said as he reached over and took Jim's hand. "You know that everyone in Major Crimes knows what to do for you. And you know that all of them have you back. I can count on them to look out for you."

"What will you do?" Jim asked as he looked out towards the path that led back to the road.

"I'm not sure yet," Blair said as he followed Jim's gaze. "I've been thinking about going into social work. I've actually been thinking about that for a while now. I want to help people, Jim. I want to help them before they become someone you have to arrest. I can't do that in the PD. You know that and so do I. This changes nothing between us. I still love you. I still want to spend the rest of my life with you. That is if you still want me."

Jim looked back at him. "Of course I do. I don't want you to ever doubt my love for you. I just thought you'd get better and come back to Major Crimes and we'd continue working together. I guess I knew this was going to happen though. I know you've been unhappy."

"Just with work. Never with you."

Jim nodded and touched Blair's cheek. "I know, Chief, I know. It's just going to take a lot of getting used to. You've been my partner longer than anyone else has."

Blair nodded. Jim leaned over and kissed him. "You know I'll support you in whatever you decide to do."

Blair smiled. "I know."

He slowly got up. "Come on. Take me for a walk. I've been in that thing too long already."

"Are you sure?" Jim asked as he stood beside Blair and wrapped his arm around his lover's waist. "If you don't feel up to it, we won't do it."

"I'm sure," Blair said confidently. "Of course if I get too tired, you can always carry me back."

"Oh that will go over well with your dad," Jim laughed as they started slowly down the steps. "Let me know if you get too tired."

It was the next week before everyone went back to Cascade. Blair finished his physical therapy and turned in his resignation to Simon. The captain was not happy but he understood why the young man decided to resign. He gave Blair a letter of recommendation to the social services department. Blair started working with at risk youth a few weeks later.

It was a night a few weeks later that Bodie had just come home and was putting away the groceries when he noticed a note on the counter. He opened it and it said, "Come out on the balcony."

Curious, Bodie went out to the balcony and saw Ray standing there, in his tuxedo, a romantic dinner laid out. "What's all this?" Bodie asked as Ray gave him a glass of champagne.

"Ask me again," Ray said as he gave Bodie a grin.

"Ask you what again?" Bodie asked.

"You know what."

Bodie just gave him a look. "Your answer going to change?"

"Might do."

Bodie just shook his head. "You're winding me up."

"No, I'm not," Ray said as he reached out and took Bodie's hand. "Ask me again."

"I might regret this," Bodie said as he looked Ray in the eye. "Ray Doyle, will you marry me?"

Ray's grin got bigger. "Yes, Bodie, yes I will."

Bodie closed the gap between them and kissed him. Then he looked at his partner. "What changed your mind?"

"Almost losing Blair," Ray sighed as they sat down. "It made me think about how close we came to losing each other over the years and all the time we spent apart because I didn't tell you the truth. I know neither one of us are hopeless romantics, but I knew that I didn't want to keep you dangling. I know you were sincere when you asked me the first time."

"And every other time," Bodie grumbled.

"I know that," Ray laughed. "I just wasn't ready then. I am now."

"I'm glad," Bodie said as he kissed Ray again and dinner was forgotten.


	6. Chapter 6

The next day, Ray went to see Blair at his new office. Blair looked up when he heard the knock on his door. "Hi Dad," he said as he got up. "Well, this is it. What do you think?"

"I think it looks great," Ray said as he looked around. "It's bigger that the closet they stuck you in at the university."

Blair laughed. "Yeah, I guess it is. So, what brings you by?"

"I thought I would come and see if you were available for lunch."

"Yeah, that's a great idea," Blair said as he grabbed his jacket. "I don't have any appointments until around two. Where do you want to go?"

"I was thinking that new Thai place Granger," Ray said as Blair nodded and they left the office. Blair stopped to tell his boss that he was going to lunch with his dad. She told him to take all the time he wanted.

They went to the restaurant and had ordered their drinks when Blair looked at his father. He noticed the older man looked a little nervous. "What's wrong?"

Ray laughed a little. "Nothing, honestly. I just wanted to have lunch with you. And tell you something."

"I knew it," Blair said as he set his menu down. "What is it?"

"Bodie proposed again last night," Ray said as he put his menu down.

"I told him to back off," Blair said as he ran his hand over his face. "I told him you weren't ready."

"Blair, I asked him to," Ray said as he held his hand up to stop his son's rant. "I told him I was finally ready. He asked and I said yes."

Blair's face lit up. "Really?"

"Yes, really," Ray said as Blair gave him a hug.

"I'm happy for you," Blair said as their server brought over their drinks and they ordered. "And I'm glad he waited until you were ready."

"Probably because you spoke to him," Ray said as he gave his son a look.

"Sorry," Blair grinned.

Ray just rolled his eyes as they talked about the fact that Ray and Bodie didn't want to wait to get married. As soon as they could get the license squared away, they were going to have a simple ceremony, probably at the courthouse. Ray did have an important request of his son. "I want you to be my best man."

"I'd be honored," Blair grinned.

That night, when Jim got home, Blair told him about Ray and Bodie deciding to get married. He knew it had been something that Jim had been thinking about. Jim sat down beside him and took his hand. "I know what you're thinking. And as much as I would love to propose to you right now, and as much as I want to marry you, I know you're not ready. You're still adjusting to your new job and you're still dealing with everything that happened with Naomi. Her trial is coming up soon. I don't want to make you think about getting married while that's going on."

"Jim, I do want to marry you," Blair argued. "I've known that for a while now. We both have. I don't want Naomi to stop us. I'm not saying we have a double ceremony with Dad and Bodie. And I think you're right, we probably should wait until after the trial. But I just want you to know all you have to do is ask the question. You know what my answer will be."

Jim nodded then got down on one knee. "No time like the present. Blair Sandburg, will you marry me?"

"Of course," Blair said as he kissed his lover.

A few weeks later, Murphy arrived from London. Bodie had told Ray he wanted their friend to be his best man and Ray had wanted to see Murphy again. Murphy looked at Ray for a long time before he embraced his old friend. "I'm glad he found you again," Murphy said as he let go of Ray and they walked to the baggage claim. "He was a nightmare all those years not knowing where you were or why you'd gone."

"I'm sorry, Murph," Ray said as he hung his head.

"I understand why you left, Doyle. Bodie explained when he came to settle things in London. I know how hard it was for him, I can only imagine how hard it was for you."

"At least I knew, well assumed, he was alive. I knew you had his back. He didn't know if I was alive or dead."

"I think he knew you were alive. I think somewhere deep down he knew you were alive."

Ray nodded and they followed Bodie out of the airport and to the car. A few days later, they went to the courthouse and got married. William offered them the use of his company's jet for their honeymoon. Bodie wanted to protest that they didn't need a honeymoon, but Ray gladly took his son's future father-in-law's offer.

They got home just in time for Naomi's trial. She refused to plead guilty. She refused to see a psychiatrist. The prosecution claimed that she willingly and knowingly tried to have her son and his partner killed. Her statements to Ray and Blair were introduced into evidence. Her attorney tried to claim that Naomi was not in her right mind when she hired the hit men to kidnap Blair and kill Jim. The one living suspect testified against her.

When Blair took the stand, he hardly looked at his mother. He knew he wouldn't be able to get through his testimony if he looked at her. Naomi took the stand and testified that she had been set up by Jim and Ray to keep her away from her son. Unfortunately for her, the jury didn't buy it. She was sentenced to 10 years for attempted kidnapping and another 10 years for attempted murder. The judge decided the sentences should run consecutively and she wouldn't be eligible for parole for 10 years.

William insisted on Jim and Blair getting married at his country club. Jim argued that they wanted a simple ceremony like Ray and Bodie had. William understood that. He thought it would be nice if they got married in one of the gardens at the club instead of the courthouse. He said it would still be a simple ceremony but outside like Blair had always envisioned his wedding to be.

Blair had Ray stand as his best man while Jim asked Simon to be his. Again, William offered use of the company jet for the honeymoon. The couple happily accepted. When they returned, they started to think about the next step in their lives. They weren't sure what exactly they wanted to do when they decided to start a family but they knew they had time to make up their minds. And that was a story for another day.


End file.
